THE ADVENTURES OF CHARCOAL BOY is a dark, musical journey performed with puppets and live music where an unlikely hero - a charred stick - becomes a star and incites a revolution!
Found object and original puppets by Eric Novak, direction by Sarah Provost, and an original live music score by Elyas Khan of the indie-rock band Nervous Cabaret.
In this puppet work for adult audiences, a tree branch is struck by lightning, falls to the ground, and wakes up in a strange world beginning a journey of self-discovery -- realizing that one's predicament can become a useful artistic talent as he learns to draw with his charred feet.
Archetypal characters inform CHARCOAL BOY's identity and growing self-awareness. CATHEAD is a world-weary cabaret singer; FLAMEGIRL an enigmatic dancer in the cabaret; CHOPPY and REACHY, a robotic pair of found industrial parts.
The music and lyrics guide the audience through CHARCOAL BOY'S mythic journey of self-discovery. The dark tonality of the music combined with the visual images of the puppetry creates a poetic, haunting and complex world. Elyas Khan, composer and lead vocalist, acts as the narrator. A full band of five musicians - upright bass, drums, trumpet, guitar, vocals, and electronic foley - create a sonic landscape oscillating from driving electric guitar, lyrical ballads, percussive march, and foot-stomping glam/blues to tell this unique tale.
An ensemble of five puppeteers brings the many characters to life, incorporating a broad variety of puppets - rod puppets, bunraku-style, found object, shadow puppets and tandem rod puppets. The unique set is transformed by cutting and drawing upon nine feet wide rolls of paper.
PRODUCTION HISTORY:
• Here Arts Center, NYC, April 2006
• Voice 4 Vision Puppet Festival, Theater for the New City, NYC, December 2005
• Arts at St. Ann's Labapalooza, St. Ann's Warehouse, Brooklyn, NY, May 2004 (Workshop)
• Mabou Mines, ToRoNada Theater, NYC, March 2004, (Workshop) STAGE REQUIREMENTS:
• Stage Dimensions: minimum 20' wide (6.096 m), minimum 25' deep (7.62 m), minimum 10' grid height (3.048 m)
• Auditorium: Seating capacity no larger than 400 seats
• Audience: The Adventures of Charcoal Boy is not appropriate for children under the age of 12. DEVELOPMENT:
THE ADVENTURES OF CHARCOAL BOY was developed as part of the Mabou Mines Resident Artist Program, Arts at St. Ann's Puppet Lab, and the MacDowell Colony for the Arts. The project has received support from the Jim Henson Foundation, the New York State Council on the Arts, a government agency, Materials for the Arts, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs/NYC Department of Sanitation/NYC Department of Education, and The Field.
• Here Arts Center, NYC, April 2006
• Voice 4 Vision Puppet Festival, Theater for the New City, NYC, December 2005
• Arts at St. Ann's Labapalooza, St. Ann's Warehouse, Brooklyn, NY, May 2004 (Workshop)
• Mabou Mines, ToRoNada Theater, NYC, March 2004, (Workshop) STAGE REQUIREMENTS:
• Stage Dimensions: minimum 20' wide (6.096 m), minimum 25' deep (7.62 m), minimum 10' grid height (3.048 m)
• Auditorium: Seating capacity no larger than 400 seats
• Audience: The Adventures of Charcoal Boy is not appropriate for children under the age of 12. DEVELOPMENT:
THE ADVENTURES OF CHARCOAL BOY was developed as part of the Mabou Mines Resident Artist Program, Arts at St. Ann's Puppet Lab, and the MacDowell Colony for the Arts. The project has received support from the Jim Henson Foundation, the New York State Council on the Arts, a government agency, Materials for the Arts, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs/NYC Department of Sanitation/NYC Department of Education, and The Field.
